Wilkinson was a member of the inaugural Mariners side and played in Grand Final losses to Sydney FC in 2006 and Newcastle Jets in 2008.

The Central Coast skipper will now line up against Brisbane Roar next weekend, after defeating Gold Coast United 1-0 in the preliminary final thanks to Adam Kwasnik's 75th-minute strike.

“I don't know if I can bear losing three Grand Finals. But it's just great to be there, and also qualifying for the ACL (Asian Champions League) which is a huge effort for us,” Wilkinson told Fox Sports after the game.

“It wasn't one of our more polished performances, but the boys dug in.

“To be fair, I thought we created more of the chances and probably deserved to win the game.

“We had quite a lot of shots in the second-half, and I was thinking it might be one of those days again where it might not drop in for us.

“I'm proud of the boys to back up from last week. I really can't wait to give Brisbane another run next week now.”

Teenage goalkeeper Matt Ryan produced a superb double save late in the contest to protect Central Coast's lead and ultimately the win.

“Full credit to the boys,” Ryan said. “My job is to be alert when I need to be. Fortunately for me the ball was in the right spot at the right time and it just struck my hand.”